Secrets
by Rickashay
Summary: “Secret are made to be found out with time.” Charles Stanford Quote. A blizzard had changed his life. Bringing a human, a species that barely existed into his life. The human did not know who he was, and he did not know who she was. Sesshomaru was the key


Inuyasha is not owned by me, I make no profit from this story.

A/N I have no idea why this idea wouldn't be ignored.

"Secret are made to be found out with time." Charles Stanford Quote.

The slushy snow crunched beneath his feet as he walked toward the only light he could see through the blizzard. He had been warned on more than one occasion of the dangers of the mountains during winter. But these warnings went unheeded. His father, wise and strong, was stern in rules he had set. Apparently Inukatsu hadn't quite gotten the idea that parent's had rules for safety reasons not to enjoy tormenting someone.

He was young, too young by demon standards to be out alone and trying to vanquish enemies with his still developing poison whip. His father would tan his backside if he found out why he was traveling out in the cold. Inukatsu didn't plan on getting caught or getting punished. His father, after all, was very strong and his punishments tended to be painful. The blizzard wasn't planned, either, and he was quite loathing it at the moment.

_Finally…._

He couldn't help but think as the tension left his shoulders. The reason for the sudden relief was the small hut, a fire illuminating the darkness and snow and a promise for a warn bed that night.

When he approached the entrance of the hut, he almost hesitated to knock. He could distinctly smell a human within. It was odd for humans to live so close to demon territory, especially his father's considering his great distain for them. But a _female_ human to live alone, for he didn't smell another scent, was even odder and his curiosity was spiked. He had never met a human before.

Rubbing the slight sliver stubble on his chin, he contemplated the situation. It would easy to kill the human, he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend a whole afternoon with one. If he didn't kill her and decided to simply spend the night, there was sure to be rumors. Since it was her domain, her scent would linger on his clothes and if the court even smelled something even familiar to the scent of a human. He would be in disgrace, and disgrace was easy to obtain at the demon court.

Having decided that it would be best to see who the human female was, and who dared to set up a settlement without the knowledge of his father. He walked inside with the intention of staying for the night.

"Excuse me, but what gives you the right to barge in here?" An indignant woman came forward, a broom in hand as if about to chase a dog out, which she was. Her dark eyes immediately caught his attention, dark brown that sparked with life. Taken back with the response, and the fact that she didn't kneel before him and offer a place to stay, he simply frowned.

"I believe you are mistaken," he paused. "You are on my land and I am free to stay." Inukatsu demonstrated what he meant by stubbornly sitting down at the small fire. Stretching his long arms, he reached toward the fire to warm the slightly purple fingers.

She huffed, still holding the broom in her hands. Relenting, she claimed it was "Too cold for him to travel." He heard her darkly mutter and couldn't help but be slightly amused.

"I suppose you want some food." She asked, not really caring to be answered but went directly to a cupboard and pulled out soup ingredients, obviously stored carefully for the winter.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Inukatsu said sincerely. He wanted to show that he really did thank her, for it was obvious she didn't have much food despite the fancy clothing she wore. The little lone hut had clearly shown that she had no way to get her own food from a market, and the clothing seemed to be a mystery since no peasant wore such clothes. He decided to ignore it as one of those "odd human things" that his mother spoke of.

The human female sat a large pot on the fire, making sure that it was suitable to cook in. She nodded with a large smile and he caught a flash of pearly white teeth. The fact that the human was so beautiful was hard to admit, he always thought that humans would be smelly and look…well, not exactly good. This human however was remarkable pretty with a dainty scent that was similar to flowers. The side ponytail did nothing to sway his attraction, for she was quite cute compared to the demonesses he met.

"What type of soup do you like?" She asked, her voice no longer holding the angry tone but as if he had made a social call instead of intruding in her home. He was pleased that her pitch was quiet but pleasant, her musical voice held him captive and he was sure she had a splendid singing voice.

"I dislike carrots and peppers." He wrinkled his nose, disregarding his mother's advice on being "as unmovable and emotionless as possible, that is the true strategy to defeat an enemy." Shaking his mother's words from his head, he took the offered bowl and cup. Sniffing the contents, making sure there was no poison in it, he took a delicate sip.

It burned, rolling down his throat as he tried to ignore the pain. Successful avoiding her gaze, he continued to drink the soup.

"If you want, you can stay overnight, I'll lay out a few blankets for you." She said, surprising him.

"It would be highly inappropriate for me to stay." He glanced at her face, the fire bringing out a seemingly unearthly beauty that reflected perhaps the depth of her soul. He wasn't entirely sure, all he knew was there was a beautiful woman with him and they were alone. It would be easy to take advantage of the situation, probably something his tutor would have done.

"Is there anyone around to see us? Besides, if you wanted to take advantage of me, wouldn't you of done so?" She smiled, knowing she had won that battle. He much preferred staying inside where it was warm instead of going back out into the cold and wet snow.

Sitting still, an object around her neck caught his eye. It was obvious it was an expensive necklace by the chain, but the real object was resting inside her kimono, carefully hidden from eyesight. Despite the fact that he knew staring at her would probably freak her out, he took note of the golden chain with a white thread wrapped around it. At first you would have thought that the hair was silver, but he knew it must have been a demon's hair and meant to protect her from any possible threats. He had heard of such things from his father. The gold seemed to be made from a horse's mane, a powerful horse demon with a slightly brown overtone. All of this he could see with simply observing, but the silver hair puzzled him. It was rare for demons to carry silver hair, and those that did were usually powerful dog demons or ogre demons. The chain was clearly hair-made and it must have been expertly done for it to remain a necklace without breaking. He couldn't quite understand why a human would have a demon necklace.

The little odd human was more interesting than he cared to admit.

"More soup?" she asked, holding up the soup spoon and dipping it in for a second meal for her self. She smiled at him, a calmer and less wide of a smile than before but just as equally entrancing. He held out his bowl, noticing the graceful posture she served with.

"Thank you." Inukatsu thanked, unsure how to thank her properly without knowing her name. "May I know your name?" he inquired.

"You may call me, Rin. And you?"

"Inukatsu." was the simple reply. Rin's eyes widened but she kept her calm with an uncertain smile. He wondered for a moment what caused her anxiety, but didn't bother to pry, knowing that he had no business discovering the truth.

"That's a nice name." She said carefully.

She sipped her tea, obviously carefully thinking. They remained in silence until she pulled out a blanket, and even then, their words were useless. She bid him a goodnight and disappeared in a backroom, where she would sleep. He couldn't help but wonder at the strange quietness she had abruptly had, for this Rin person didn't seem to have enjoyed his response.

The next morning showed that the weather was not letting up. The only way that he could go out was if he decided traveling in the waist high snow. His only choice was to remain in the small hut and wait for the blizzard to end. In the meanwhile, he would take his time getting to know the only human he had ever come in contact with.

((1))

His father had always told him that he needed to work hard to obtain the things he wanted. He knew that his father's father was a great demon, having expanded the western territory to meet the east, north, and south, making him the great Inu no Taisho. It was a well known fact that he died disgracefully for a human and a half-breed. But no matter how often Inukatsu thought of his grandfather, he couldn't help but think what made him risk his life for a disgusting human. If he had known his grandfather, perhaps his views on life would be different.

He knew little of humans, his mother having sheltered him from any humanity since being born. Their customs and traditions were more like foreign languages that he couldn't even comprehend. His father knew about humans, he traveled with a human child during his conquest to defeat the demon Naraku, who he knew little about. When his grandmother told him this, he could scarcely believe his father had let the human travel with him, but going to hell in risk of his life, how could his undefeatable father do such a thing? He never had the courage to ask such a question, but he wanted to know what motivated him to keep the child and what became of the child. His questions were only spoken in his head.

His grandmother spoke a lot on her deceased husband and her son. Their great battles and victories reminded him of what he should be. A proud taiyokui able to defeat all enemies, but this accomplishment seemed too far-off and unattainable.

"Good morning. Has the weather been any better?" A voice spoke from behind him, bringing him out of these thoughts. His teenage mind still thinking about what he should do and the past rulers. He answered:

"No, the blizzard just keeps roaring." Inukatsu wasn't in the mood to talk, and sulking was the easiest way to deal with something when it wasn't in his favor.

Her silk kimono brushed past him, her black hair undone and cascading down her back. Knowing that she was making breakfast, he stuck around and occasionally lifted his nose to sniff the air. Rin seemed to know exactly what to cook, and didn't seem to bother to ask what he wanted. Not that she would know but to completely ignore him was rude.

"What are you cooking?" He stepped beside her. Watching as she prepared what seemed to be pickles and rice balls. He was pleased that the pickles would not be spicy as he anticipated, knowing that by the scent. The odd human food was interesting and he couldn't wait to eat something other than raw meat.

"I am making pickles and rice balls." Rin smiled at him. His tall height despite not being fully grown made him realize how short she was. Nearly up to his shoulder, a full head taller than her, the reality was that she couldn't possibly be old enough to be alone. How she survived without a nearby village was still a mystery.

"It smells good." Inukatsu surprised himself that he was complimenting her cooking, and when she gave him a smile he couldn't help but be pleased with this discovery.

"Thank you." Rin continued making the food, watched carefully by the youkai as she stepped around the room and prepared the meal. He knew it was woman's work, but he couldn't help but wish he was useful in some way.

They ate, too absorbed by the food that the only sound was their chewing and the blizzard outside. It was oddly comfortable, more comfortable than anytime he dined with either of his parents. This thought made him raise an eyebrow. What made him so comfortable in the presence of the species that was nearly nonexistent in his life up-until yesterday? The human was very strange indeed.

A/N I thought this was a good place to end this chapter. I hope it was interesting and the next chapter will be posted soon. Sorry, I know I should be working on other things but this idea wouldn't leave my head and I am planning on finishing it. So you obviously know that the character is Rin, and you probably are guessing who Inukatsu's father is.


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